White Out Can't Cover This Mistake

Joe Hermitt/The Patriot NewsIt's not good when the secondary is tackling the RB.

I don't even know where to begin. There is so much rubble here. So much dust. So little pride. I still find myself in shock--and surprise--but when you look back with that hindsight that is always 20/20, you have to admit that deep down, you knew this would or could happen.

There are some hard questions that Penn State fans have to deal with here. In no particular order:

• Do we have the same talent level as the Ohio State's and THEM's of the college football world? I thought we did. But week after week, I keep waiting to see it, and I just don't. Our "shut down" corner has been shut down. Our linebackers are tackling Buckeye running backs in the secondary--from behind. It gave me flashbacks of Gino Capone and the year when one of our safeties (Mayer or Boyd) was the team's leading tackler. DWill was supposed to be good. Morelli was supposed to be good. Scott was supposed to be good. King was supposed to be good. Is this talent level where it needs to be to compete with the big boys?
• If the talent level is there, why is not being exploited? Player development, especially at the QB position, is at an abysmal nadir in Penn State history. I really thought this team had some playmakers--had enough talent to compete successfully. Is it just the coaching? Michael Robinson obviously had talent and seemed to rise above the coaching ineptitude. How much talent does one need to bring to the table to be immune from the coaching staff?
• Why can Ohio State graduate a Heisman winner and plug in an inexperienced player (a senior with junior eligibility) and still continue to win and be ranked number one? Or to put it another way, why can't we? Look at the two programs--the facilities, fan base and tradition are as equal in the modern era as I can see. Yet, we can't out recruit or out coach them. I may be answering my own questions here.
• Is it really time for Joe to go? I really don't want to get into this discussion but it has to be asked--objectively and subjectively. The embarrassing losses are mounting. This "game" against the Bucks was embarrassing. The loss to THEM (who lost to Appalachian State) was embarrassing. At what point is the legend not allowed to dictate how he will leave? When does his creation (Penn State football) become more important than the man himself? Or is it already more important, but no one wants to brooch that subject?
• How, as fans, can we effect any change? Are we willing to tolerate the status quo? I see posters calling for season ticket holders and NLC members to stop donating. I strongly suspect that these posters are not ticket holders. I have sat in the same seats since the 70's. Do I really want to give this up, knowing that I may never be able to get them back? This would be somewhat analogous to consumers stopping their gasoline usage to protest the high cost of gasoline. I know; it's not a great analogy because the quality of the gasoline is not an issue and the need for gasoline is different than our need for Penn State football. But you get the idea.
• Are we an elite program anymore? Were we ever, or was it a quirk of circumstances and independent status in scheduling that gave that appearance? Would Joe Paterno have built the Beaver Stadium we see today had he coached in the Big Ten since 1966? I'm really starting to wonder, because the Joe Paterno I see on the sideline today is doing the things he has always done. That is what is so maddening. Insanity--doing the same thing over and over again but expecting different results. I really think we had some good football teams in the past. But I really thought this was going to be a pretty good football team, too. And I fear next year will be more of the same. Beat up the Coastal Carolina's. Lose to THEM at home. Get crushed by the Buckeyes away. Throw in another loss or two where we choke or the youth and inexperience of our quarterback costs us a game. December Bowl. You don't even need to watch next season, now do you? I can give you the press conference for this week. We got our ears kicked in. They did some things we couldn't handle. Morelli is doing a great job. No major changes for Purdue. Insanity.

Joe Hermitt/The Patriot-NewsMorelli fumbles!

The actual game itself was a microcosm of the entire season. Penn State could maintain no consistency on offense. Our coaching staff exhibited no confidence and called for a punt on 4th and 2. We could not convert an interception opportunity into points. The defensive weaknesses were heightened by the level of play. Justin King continues to struggle in coverage. The line could not stop running backs like Hart or either Wells. Morelli continues to make dumb plays, and was lucky his fumble was recovered. He was not so fortunate on his pick six later in the game. Who was he throwing to? If the receiver ran the wrong route, why was the defender not following the receiver? If he was following Morelli's eyes, just what was he looking at? Tressel? He has now thrown only three touchdowns against Ohio State--and all three were INTs and TDs for Ohio State.

I make no pretense here--I was not impressed with the Buckeyes before this game and I didn't consider them to be a top ranked team. But they played well, efficiently, and they are well-coached. They may not be the best team in the country, and may lose their bowl game to an SEC team such as LSU, but they are the best team we faced all season.

John C. Whitehead/The Patriot-NewsEven toast doesn't get burnt that bad!

In fact, this is the first game I thought we deserved to lose and were clearly over-matched. The score does not even accurately reflect how dominant the Buckeyes were. Their offensive line controlled the line of scrimmage. The crowd could not dictate the snap count, but Boeckman dictated the game. Here's a stat for you: The Buckeyes did not punt once the entire game. A late kick off return by Wallace made the score look closer as well.

This was a very disheartening loss no matter how you look at it. Sure, you don't expect to knock number one off. You don't expect to keep them from scoring. But you do expect to be in the game in the second half. If not, we have really lowered our expectations and I, for one, do not consider that a good thing.

At least the weather was great. There! I said something nice.

BY THE NUMBERS:

OSU outgained us 453 yards to 263. They gained 200 yards on 48 rushes. We actually had more yards per rush than they did, but it mattered not a bit (6.0 per rush vs. 4.2.)

OSU had 24 first downs to Penn State's 14, and as I said above, they never needed to punt.

INTANGIBLES:

A crowd of 110,134 made this the second largest Beaver Stadium crowd behind the Nebraska game of 2002. At least we won that one.

We won the coin toss and deferred. Moral victory, Woo hoo!

The drum major stuck both flips. PJ had trouble holding onto the fire batons. Is that recruiting? Coaching?

Joe falls another behind Bobby as F$U defeated Duke. 369 to 371 if you are counting.